Zhang Zhonghang Prose Translation

Abstract:In the1980s-1990s, the Chinese literary world saw a sudden rise of the scholar essays by the "old generations" in their70s or80s. Among them, the essays of Old Peking University written by Zhang Zhongxing are noted for the writer’s proficiency in language and style. His stylistic use of language, especially the ingenious fusion of the traditional and the vernacular Chinese, diverse topics, and witty expressions are inalienable from his signature writing. This paper has its focus on the translation of the Memories of the Red Mansion, an essay by Zhang Zhongxing. The difficulties in translation include complex historical context, cultural allusions, the blending of the traditional and the vernacular Chinese, and the logic as well as information gap between Chinese and English. Hence some tentative solutions are applied in the translation.